Daddy's Birthday Weekend !

We have had another lot of lovely weather and we have spent quite bit of time down at the allotment, working around Daddy's birthday, BBQ's, Grandad & Nanna visiting, splashing in the paddling pool and generally having fun in the garden at home.

We have put a net around the redcurrant bush as the redcurrants are just starting to turn pink, so we want to keep the birds away ! The early potatoes are just starting to form flowers which is nice to see. Daddy & Henry did a huge pile of weeding and general tidying of the plot, and Mummy sowed some more seeds :

1 tray of Clapton F1 Cauliflower
1 tray of Kestrel F1 Beetroot
2 Pumpkin plants (Spellbound) - for Henry's Halloween Pumpkin !
2 Squash plants (Sweet Dumpling).

After sowing all that we did a massive water of everything as everything looked in desperate need ! Then we put some slug pellets down to try and stop the slugs ans snails munching on our veg !

Bank Holiday weekend - 23-25th May 2009

Well, for once we had lovely weather this Bank Holiday weekend. On Friday mummy was able to sort the greenhouse out and has planted all the tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers and lettuce in the greenhouse. She also harvested the leeks (made a lovely leek & potato soup) and a few radish.

Then today (Monday) Henry and I went down and did alot of weeding, planted the sweetcorn where the leeks used to be. We added some more peas in their rows as only a few of them have come through - pesky mice !!!

Tuesday 19th May 2009 - And still it rains !

The weather doesn't look to be improving at all, but Henry and I popped down after school today to water in the greenhouse as Mummy is on a course for the next 2 days and not going to get a chance to water anything - not that anything outside needs watering I might add !

We planted 4 tomato plants in the greenhouse from the trays, 4 Lollo Rossa lettuce in front of them, and we planted 10 climbing French bean plants outside where we had put the cane structure ready for them.

On the way home we noticed the leeks are looking like they have a flower developing so we'll have to gather the leek harvest this weekend and make a leek & potato soup. We bumped into Dave as well on the way back to the car and he had a look at Henry's radish and said it was fantastic - there are quite a few ready for picking - about the size of a 10p !

Sunday 17th May - Rain, Rain & More Rain !

We took advantage of the short break in the rain today and went down for about an hour after lunch. Mummy weeded 2/3 of the bed at the back next to the rhubarb and planted out 12 broccoli plants which had been growing nicely in the greenhouse in one of Great Nanna's seed trays. She also transplanted 3 more Lollo Rossa lettuce outside into Henry's plot to replace the small ones which have obviously been munched away by greedy slugs & snails !

Daddy weeded inbetween the shed and greenhouse and behind the greenhouse and then put black matting down and covered it with bark chippings so it's looking really good and neat now.
Henry helped out doing a little bit of everything :-) I think sometime soon it will be time to plant the other things which are still in trays in the greenhouse - I'm looking forward to having more plants actually in the ground in the greenhouse rather than in seed trays !

Monday 11th May 2009

Went down after school for a quick water of the greenhouse and we also decided it was time to plant the courgettes into their new home outside ! We put one in Henry's patch, 2 at the end of the 'Roots' bed and one at the end of the potato bed too.

Sunday 10th May 2009

Henry and I popped down after lunch today before Kane's birthday party. We put up the support ready for the climbing French beans, and we also put up a circular support in Henry's patch as he wants some too ! We watered everything in the greenhouse, transplanted some Lollo Rossa lettuce to Henry's patch from the greenhouse and also transplanted some Tom Thumb lettuce out of their tray into the greenhouse in front of the chilli plants.

Saturday 9th May 2009

We all went down to the allotment first thing this morning to water the greenhouse and spray the broad beans as they have the start of black fly on them. It was a successful visit and Daddy was please to see the purple and yellow chillies growing !

The courgette plants are not too far of needing to be planted out I think - they are giant !!! The peppers have come through now as well, so we are doing well !

Thursday 7th May 2009

Henry and I popped down after school today just to do a quick water of the greenhouse before Henry had his second swimming lesson at Waterworld. We were so excited to discover the chillies have started to grow now - I don't know why, seeing as they have done nothing for quite a while, but it is nice and satisfying to see now !

Friday 1st May 2009

I went down this afternoon, whilst avoiding the showers, just to water the plants in the greenhouse. Everything looked fine and was coming on nicely in there. Still no chillies on the plants despite the flowers so will have to read up about pollination for them.

I also planted 4 Brussels Sprout plants in the bed with the Spring cabbage in at the moment at the front of the allotment. Then I dug up one Spring cabbage plant to have with our tea tonight !

A view of the whole plot - 24th April 2009

Even more photos !

The raspberry bed and the flowering Aquadulce Claudia broad beans that over-wintered, with 2 rows of Rooster potatoes that were sprouting in the kitchen cupboard !!

More photos

The pots of herbs are coming through - especially the rocket. The second photo shows the peas and broad beans coming through and the chicken wire protecting the second sowing of peas fro birds !

Blossom on the apple trees !

More photos of Seed Trays !

A few photos !

Here are some photos of the chilli plants looking nice and healthy in the greenhouse, and the seed trays of Great Nanna's containing the some of the tomatoes :-)

Monday 20th April 2009

Henry and I popped down to water things in the greenhouse after I picked him up from Grandma's.

To our excitment we noticed the Tom Thumb lettuce had started to come through, and also the broccoli, in the greenhouse. Outside, more peas and broad beans were poking through the surface, and the pots of dill and parsley seem to have some small green bits poking out too !

Sunday 19th April 2009

We all went down early to the allotment this morning. Daddy & Henry got rid of alot of the big weeds behind the greenhouse and next to the chickens. Mummy planted the following in the greenhouse:

1 tray of Crystal Lemon Cucumber
2 trays of Climbing French Bean - Corono D'Oro
1 tray of Sweetcorn

We gave everything a good water in the greenhouse and shut it up.
Then Mummy planted a row of Carrots (Autumn King 2) and another row of Sutton Broad Bean and a row of Kelvedon Wonder peas. Daddy made a clever bird protector from Grandad's chicken wire he gave us last year to put over the peas. The broad beans and peas that Mummy sowed a couple of weeks ago have just started to come through.

Tuesday 14th April 2009

Henry and I visited this afternoon and sowed a lot more in the greenhouse in Great Nanna's old seed trays. We sowed:

1 tray of Lollo Rossa lettuce
1 tray of Tom Thumb lettuce
1 tray of Summer Cabbage - Greyhound
1 tray of Broccoli - Autumn Calabrese
1 tray of Courgette - Zucchini Genovese (Uncle Carl brought them back from Italy last year).

We noticed the early potatoes (Accent & Anya) had started peeking through the surface, and the rocket had started to grow in the terracotta pot.

We sowed a row of Beetroot - Kestrel in the 'Roots' bed and then gave everything a good water, and came home.

Bank Holiday Monday

Uncle Carl & Auntie Julie popped down to see the allotment today and to bring Henry his Easter present and egg ! Uncle Carl bought us two gooseberry plants which we have put in near the rhubarb, where the Blueberry used to be. He thinks one of them is a red gooseberry, so we are hoping it is !

Then Nanna & Grandad came round after having a stall at the Car Boot Sale in Chirk. They did quite well and managed to get rid of a lot of stuff they had accumulated ! They wanted to pop and see the allotment and so we went down to see it, and Mummy gave them a leek, and on the way out Graham called us over and gave them a cabbage from his greenhouse. Nanna & Grandad rang last night and said they were the nicest tasting leek and cabbage they had had in months ! I must remember to tell Graham next time we see him !

Saturday 11th April 2009

Henry and I went down to sow the things in the greenhouse. We used Great Nanna's seed trays and now have:

a tray of Italian Pomodoro tomatoes (Uncle Carl brought these back from Italy last year for us)
a tray of Golden Cherry tomatoes
a tray of Big Boy Beefsteak tomatoes
a tray of Shirley tomatoes
a tray of Gardener's Delight tomatoes
a tray of Mixed Peppers - Carnival
a tray of Cyrano Melons

We gave everything a good water, earthed up the Rooster potatoes next to the broad beans and then went home. So I wonder how long it will take to see the first seedling :-)

Good Friday morning !

We all went down to the allotment this morning with Uncle Nige. Daddy & Uncle Nige put the new pieces of glass in, and replaced the glass panel that had cracked.

Mummy & Henry put the remaining maincrop potatoes in (Cara & Desiree), and then we planted the chilli plants we had grown at home in the greenhouse. We gave everything a good water and then came home to get ready to go to Nanna & Grandads for a meal and to stay overnight.

Henry helping with sorting the rocks and the rubbish found under the greenhouse

Sunday 5th April 2009

We all went to the allotment this morning as the weather was so nice ! Daddy was digging out the greenhouse soil and removing whatever he came across, and Henry was helping. Mummy potted up some Coriander Confetti, Rocket, Dill and French Parsley in some of Great Nana's old terracotta pots. Then Henry and I sowed a row of Carrots (Resistafly) next to the parsnips in the 'Roots' bed and also next to the radish in Henry's bed.

Then Daddy came across something really big buried in the greenhouse and so we went to pick up Uncle Nige to help us move it. Eventually they managed to get it out, a massive concrete post with rebar, and also a big iron pole !!! Phew ! Then we dug it over and put some fertiliser in there, put the concrete slabs in the middle for a footpath and it was done apart from the new glass which should be in before the weekend.

Then we watered everything and came home.

Saturday 4th April 2009 - The greenhouse gets its glass !

We picked Uncle Nige up at just gone 9 this morning and then all went down to put the glass in the greenhouse. Everything went really well, and about 10:00 Henry and I went down to the allotment shop to see what we could buy ! We chatted to Graham and Andrea and ended up with a bag of red onions to plant. Graham said the ones we over-wintered would be ready to come out the ground in June and these would then take over and be ready in September time. It cost 50p and we had 74 !!!! So we put them in the rest of the space in the bed where the leeks and radar onions are already in.

Then Uncle Nige and Henry and I went to Boyles in Pandy to get the two new glass panes, however we found they were shut on Saturday - how silly ! So we'll have to get those in the week.

But apart from those 2 glass panes the greenhouse is now finished :-)

Friday 3rd April 2009

Henry and I went down to the allotment for a while this afternoon as Henry has now finished school for the Easter holidays ! We planted the 5 free Yukon Gold potatoes we got given for being members of the allotment shop, and we did some clearing and weeding.

We 'think' the lollo rossa lettuce are slowly coming through, but they are just too small to be able to tell yet ! Fingers crossed.

Tuesday 31st March 2009

I popped down after work today and managed to post a row of peas (Hurst Greenshaft), a double row of broad beans (Sutton Dwarf), and a row of mixed salad leaves at the end of the potato bed as they should mature way before the potatoes crowd them - hopefully !

Henry's radish have come through a little more and the greenhouse looks right at home at the bottom of the plot :-)

View of the allotment with greenhouse frame in place

Sunday 29th March - the greenhouse arrives !

We all met Nanna & Grandad down at Great Grandpa's at 9:30am and Daddy & Grandad got straight to work dismantling it. Nanna was doing some more cleaning of the house and I was chatting to her ! And Henry was doing a little bit of everything - mostly showing off his new lunchbag with cars on !!

At about 11am Henry, Nanna and I went to visit Great Grandpa in his new home, Newton Hall. He seemed very happy and his room was lovely. He was very pleased the greenhouse was coming down well, he was worried it may fall apart I think. We had a chat and Great Grandpa had a Whiskey and then we went back to see how Grandad and Daddy were getting on. We found they had almost finished taking down the frame.

After they had taken down all of the frame we stopped for a picnic - Henry's highlight of the day ! We all had some sandwiches and a drink and then Grandad, Daddy and Mummy loaded up the trailer whilst Henry and Nanna picked some daffodil's to put in a vase at home. Nanna picked a special bunch for Henry and this had some blue flowers in called 'Forget-Nots (!)' so Henry wouldn't forget Nanna - he now has these in a vase in his bedroom !

Once we had packed everything we set off for the allotment. Despite looking like a mish-mash of metal, Grandad and Daddy appeared to know what they were doing and the greenhouse frame went up relatively easily. As time was plodding on we decided to leave putting the glass in until the weekend when Uncle Nige can help us too (and we needed to buy 2 new pieces of glass for the door as they broke on the journey across).

Saturday 28th March 2009

We all went down this afternoon to prepare the bottom of the allotment for the arrival of Great Grandpa's greenhouse tomorrow. We are meeting Nana & Grandad at Great Grandpa's and 9:30 tomorrow and then dismantling the greenhouse, transporting it to the allotment, and putting it back up (hopefully !!!).

We measure out the area (6ft x 8ft) and then flattened it off and edged it with bricks, making sure it was all level as well. Henry supervised whilst he was eating sweeties !

All the trees and bushes are looking healthy apart from the blueberry which we thought was possibly dead last time we were down ! We've left it in for now just in case though, if not we'll buy a new one in a couple of weeks time. We had to move the Bramley Seedling apple tree a bit because of where the new greenhouse is going, but that is all fine now in its new place. We also put in some rhubarb from Grandpa's garden which Uncle Nige got for us.

Henry's radish are coming through, as are the potatoes we planted a few weeks ago (the ones which had sprouted in the cupboard at home) - I think they were Rooster potatoes. No sign of the lettuce, spinach or parsnips yet, although I think Dad told me parsnips had a long germination period, so we'll wait and see.

The raspberry canes that came from Lauriston are doing really well (full of leaves), the others are not doing anything just yet. The cherry tree has lots of leaves coming, as does the 2 apple trees.

Early potatoes are in - hooray !

I ran down in my lunchbreak today to plant the early potatoes. So we now have a row of Accent potatoes and a row of Anya potatoes. Everything else seemed to be doing well, nothing appearing yet from the new seeds we sowed but patience is a virtue !!!

Just need to pop down sometime, maybe tomorrow and sow a row of peas and broad beans.

Monday 16th March 2009

After school today Henry and I sowed a tray of Musselburgh leeks and a tray of Bedford Fillbasket brussels sprouts. Gave tem a good water and put them in a sunny position in the garden :-)

Sunday 15th March 2009 - The Sowing Begins !!!

We all went down after lunch today as the weather was so lovely. Daddy dug out the remaining bed up near the raspberries and apple trees so that is now ready for planting the broad bean (Sutton Dwarf), and the early pea (Hurst Greenshaft) which we are hoping to do in the next week.

Henry & Mummy planted a row of Lollo Rossa lettuce, Countess F1 parsnip and the free trial radish we got from Marshalls seeds (Radish MSC 7695 - Yellow Radish) in Henry's bed. Then in this years 'Roots' bed we planted one row of Countess F1 parsnip, and in the end of the bed with the red onions and shallots in we planted one row of Tirza F1 spinach.

All of the fruit trees are starting to bud and produce leaves which is lovely to see. And the blueberry might look slightly more lively than last time we were there ! Fingers crossed. There are 8 spring cabbage and they are starting to get a bit fuller now as the weather improves a bit.

Henry and I are hoping to go down sometime after school this week to plant the early potatoes (Accent & Anya), one row of Hurst Greenshaft peas and one row of Sutton broad beans.

1st March 2009 - St Davids Day & March is here !!!

We went down to the allotment after lunch for a short while today. We transferred the 3 raspberry canes that were in the back garden down to the allotment and also the thornless blackberry bush that we had.

Having done a little tidying, weeding and put the plants in their new home we picked a leek to pull up for Henry's tea and then came home.

Monday 23rd February 2009 - Free Seeds

Today the free seeds came in the post which I'm chuffed about - it seems ages ago we sent off for them from the Daily Telegraph voucher Dave's Dad gave us. We got 10 different packets (Autumn King Carrot, Bedford Brussels Sprout, Moneymaker Tomato, Salad Bowl Lettuce, Detroit 2 Crimson Globe Beetroot, Greyhound Cabbage, Bouquet Dill - Herb, Coriander Confetti - Herb, Rocket - Herb, French (plain-leaved) Parsley - Herb).

Looking forward to March now and I can start sowing things and watching things slowly growing again !

Spring is definitely coming - Sunday 22nd February 2009

Well, the weather was lovely again today so Daddy, Mummy & Henry all went for a work-out at the allotment ! First of all we dug over and weeded one of the new beds near the shed, and then Daddy dug over and weeded the smaller bed next to it ready for the rhubarb (which we must remember to ask Uncle Nige to dig out of his garden !).

Next Mummy & Henry planted some potatoes that Mummy found all sprouting nicely in the kitchen cupboard yesterday ! We think they were Desiree, and they may not survive being planted now but otherwise they would have just gone in the bin so we will wait and see ! We have put them in next to the broad beans.

Then we dug over and weeded Henry's patch and checked the 9 garlic plants Henry has in his patch were doing well. Then we dug over and weeded the final bed at the front of the allotment, so that is now clear apart from a few spring cabbage plants.

Henry and Mummy checked all the fruit trees and bushes and they all have little buds coming - the apples seem to have more than the plum or cherry tree - maybe they come a bit earlier - will wait and see. The gooseberry bush is showing signs of life too. The only things not showing anything at the moment are the raspberrys and the blueberry bush.

The front of the plot looking a little tidier !

Henry digging the potato bed over - 15th February

Henry did enjoy trying to do the digging but he wanted to use Mummy & Daddy's fork, not his own one which is sized especially for him - hence it was a slow process !!

Sunday 15th February 2009

Well, it felt like the start of Spring this morning. The weather was alot milder and there was 'almost' sunshine !!! Henry and I decided to go down to the allotment this morning to give it a good sorting out in readiness for the Spring planting to begin.

We arrived about 10am and were the only ones there at that point, but during the morning we saw quite few people arrive (Graham came, Maxie the dog and his Daddy, Mark the chicken man, and the tall Royal Mail man who gave us the leeks last year). It was nice to see it getting busier again, its been so quite recently.

Everything was looking well, all the trees and bushes had little buds starting so that was nice to see. The first thing we did was to dig over the new large bed ready for the early potatoes in a few weeks time. Apart from a couple of bricks and a bit of metal wire, this wasn't too bad. And Henry helped !!!

The next photo is looking at the broad beans (which are not doing as badly as I thought after the snow, they seem to have picked up a bit), and you can just see the new fruit trees as well in the background. Unfortunately the photo also illustrates all the work we still have to do digging out the back end next to the shed and getting ready for the greenhouse.

Sunday 8th February 2009

We all went down early this morning, the snow was still on the ground and it was freezing but under the snow the ground was soft enough to be able to plant the 3 fruit trees (Bramley Seedling apple, Dual apple (Sunset & Golden Delicious) & the dual plum (Marjorie's Seedling & Cambridge Gage). We had a brief look at the other things but couldn't see alot of them for the snow. The broad beans are not looking too good, but we'll see what happens when Spring come properly and the weather gets warmer ! Fingers crossed it won't be too long !!!

Saturday 7th February 2009 - The Allotment Shop is open !!!

Hooray ! The allotment shop is now open once again for the season. I went down fairly early to get my potatoes and seeds - very pleased with my purchases. I bought 7 Accent potatoes (1st early), 7 Anya potatoes (2nd early), 10 Cara potatoes & 10 Desiree potatoes (both maincrop). I also got 5 free Yukon Gold potatoes (these are early potatoes too) which came with the membership.

Membership has gone up to £3 for the year but the savings on the potatoes and seeds must easily pay for that. Graham has set up a website as well for the allotment so I'm looking forward to looking at that later on tonight. I also bought Broad bean - Sutton Dwarf, Climbing French Bean - Corona D'Oro, Cucumber - Crystal Lemon, Sweetcorn - Early Sweet, Squash - Sweet Dumpling, Cauliflower - Clapton, Pea - Hurst Greenshaft, Leek - Mussleburgh, Lettuce - Tom Thumb & Parsnip - Countess. The whole lot including membership cost about £17.50 !!

Sunday 18th January 2009

Well, we are trying to get together a list of which seeds we want to buy, which we already have, where we need to buy them from (Allotment shop, or seed catalogue !). Nearly sorted now as Dave's dad managed to get 10 free seeds packs from The Daily Telegraph for £1.99, so we have sent off for those, there were 3 herb packets in there which will be nice.

Henry and I walked down to the allotment this afternoon, the weather was quite nice, a little cold, but sunny. It was really muddy down there but things were not looking too bad. The Broad beans had been buffeted about by the wind and some of them don't look too good, but we will see. We put some more string around them to hold them up a bit, to stop them being damaged by the wind.

We dug over about 1/5 of the bed so its ready for the early potatoes in a few weeks time, and we picked some purple sprouting broccoli, 2 leeks and the last cabbage.

The garlic and onions have come on in the last couple of weeks and hooray - the shallots have started poking through the soil - I thought they were a dud batch !!!

The bare little Stella Cherry Tree

This poor little tree will hopefully be full of life and cherries by later this Summer - fingers crossed !

Photos of the allotment on 30th December 2008 - Very cold !!!

30th December 2008

Henry and I walked down to the allotment today to burn off a little of that Christmas excess !!!! (certainly on my part, not necessarily on his !). It was a long walk and he needed refreshments when we arrived (see photo of him in the shed !) We then spent the time we had down there doing a little bit of digging, checking how things were going in general. We removed some of the celeriac as we dug a couple up and there was no real big root at all, so we threw them away. We picked a leek, some purple sprouting broccoli, and a small cabbage for Henry's tea, and then we came home.

Wednesday 10th December 2008

Henry and I went down after school today to see what was happening as we hadn't been down for what felt like ages. The whole place was deserted, but then not much is growing at this time of year ! No new weeds had grown which is always good, and after checking the cherry tree, broad beans and the raspberrys, we did a bit of tidying up. Some of the lettuce's had gone a bit mushy and so we removed those ones, we also pulled up all the broccoli plants, apart from the purple sprouting which still seems to be going strong. We also pulled up one cabbage to take home for tea. Everything else still looks ok, apart from the Winter spinach which doesn't seem to have done very much at all - maybe it went in too late ?

Sunday 16th November 2008

The weather was quite nice this afternoon so after a trip to the zoo and a lovely lunch we went down to the allotment to see what had been happening.

We planted the cherry tree (eating cherry - Stella) between the large potato bed and the broad beans (which are doing really well). Then we dug over the raspberry patch and planted 6 raspberry canes. I took the camera down to take photos but completely forgot so will try and pop down after picking Henry up from school this week to take some photos. Then Henry gave them a really good water in.

We pulled up the beetroot, and decided that they had been put in too late really, there were only 4 worth saving !! The shallots still haven't come through but the garlic and onions are doing well. Picked loads more brocolli and had it for tea :-)

Sunday 26th October 2008

Henry and I popped down before lunch today to see how things were getting on. We picked a lot of broccoli, some radish, a little Gem lettuce and also disposed of the Butternut Squash plants. The squashes on there were not getting any bigger and some had started to rot. The leaves on the plants had started to die back as well.

We noticed the garlic had started to come through alot more but still no movement with the shallots yet. The slugs had been chomping on the Spring Cabbage but they still look OK. We also pulled up a tiny weeny cauliflower (about 4cm in diameter !!!).

The broad beans are still doing well and also we noticed the gooseberry bush we put at the front had the startings of a little leaf !

Saturday 18th October 2008

This afternoon we all went down to the allotment as the weather was really nice. We used the remaining decking boards to put an edge around the bed where the raspberries will be going later on this year (it is about 11 feet long by 2 feet wide, allowing for 1.5 feet between each raspberry plant then we would fit about 7 plants down that line). Now we just need to decide whether to buy a pack of 10, or whether to use the 4 that Grandad gave us from his old garden, and then try and get 3 more ? Will make that decision later !!!

Then we planted a blueberry bush down by the shed next to the bed that will have the rhubarb in, and we also planted a gooseberry bush at the front in the middle of the bare patch where the shed used to be.

We picked alot of broccoli, some radish and also some Swiss Chard. I also took the largest celeriac out as it seemed to be huge, although it wasn't big enough to do anything with, so it went on the compost heap, I think maybe they need longer (November/December).

In the morning I popped to the allotment shop to buy a couple of garlic bulbs for Les in work and Monty gave me some bonemeal to go in the ground for the blueberry plant.

Video of the whole plot - Thursday 16th October 2008

Plot 122 (our new plot), and both plots (121 & 122)

Photo's of the young Spinach & Red Onions

Thursday 16th October 2008

I popped down to the allotment today to have a quick look how things were getting on. It was nice to see the broad beans we put in looking very healthy (left), and everything else coming on quite well. The butternut squash plant looks like it is on it's last legs because of the cold I think, but there are still squash's on the plant (albeit small ones !) so we'll leave it there for the moment.

I took some photos of the allotment and also a small video which I'll try and upload.

Monday 13th October 2008

After picking Henry up from school we both went over to visit Great Grandpa. It was nice to see him and he has also said we can have the greenhouse from the garden to put in the allotment. I can't wait to look up what I can grow in there now !!!

So, when mum & dad get back from France we'll have to arrange a convienient time to take it down and get it to the allotment in dad's trailer.

Sunday 12th October 2008

The weather was lovely today - it could have been Summer ! We went down this afternoon and planted all the broad bean plants (Aquadulce Claudia) we had sown at home in the big square bed on the new plot. We have 3 double rows with 11 plants in each row (66 plants !), and the whole lot cost us 70p !!! So fingers crossed they will do OK over winter.

Henry was very busy watering the garlic, onions and the spring cabbage, while Dave & I rigged up a cane/twine structure round the broad bean plants to try and prevent them being buffeted by the wind. Then Henry gave them a good water too.

Saturday 11th October 2008

We all went down to the allotment this afternoon, after looking at the weather on the television and being told by the weatherman it was going to stay dry ! The weather man had not given much thought to the weather in Wrexham and while we were there we had drizzle from the moment we got out of the car. It wasn't too bad though and we managed to do some really good work.

First we built the last bed and a small bed for rhubarb attached to an existing one, then we used the black weed matting to cover alot of the new paths in the new plot and then barrowed loads of bark chippings to cover them. We left an area free for the raspberries to go in, and covered the rest of it, apart from the very bottom where we are putting apple trees and hopefully a greenhouse eventually.

After doing all of this the rain finally decided to set in and we decided to go home and have a shower to get warm and clean again !

Sunday 5th October 2008 - The new plot and the chickens

There are three photos I took yesterday afternoon, one looking down to the area of our new plot (where you can see the pesky weeds covering it again, but you can also see the new beds taking shape), the second looking at our bed with the Radar onions, Little Gem lettuce, garlic, leeks, carrots, radish & Swiss Chard in, and also a couple of the chickens from the plot next to ours :-)

Sunday 5th October 2008

Henry and I went down this afternoon after Sunday lunch to tidy up things really, as the weather has been so awful lately we haven't had a chance before now. Unfortunately the weeds have grown back where we had cleared them all on the new plot - BUT there are mostly surface weeds and also where the paths are going and we're covering this with the weed control fabric and then bark chippings eventually so that's OK.

So first we removed the courgette plant which has served us well, but has finally come to the end of it's life really ! It must've produced in excess of 50 courgettes so it was well worth the money ! Then we dug over the are where it had come from and removed the carrots and weeds that were growing underneath (Carrots all had carrot fly, and were really small, but that wasn't surprising considering they were underneath the huge courgette plant !). Then we planted two rows of Spring Cabbage plants and covered the area with netting. We also removed the cramped beetroot plants and spread them out into 3 rows to give them a chance at growing.

Then we removed all of Henry's strawberry plants and cleared out his bed (apart from the remaining broccoli & cabbage plants). Then we collected more brocolli, our first butternut squash, a cabbage and some Swiss Chard (which we haven't picked before).

The Radar onions have started to come through now, but the shallots and garlic haven't yet.

Dave came over and gave us a couple of leeks from his plot which were huge ! I said ours were still quite small and he said they were unlikely to do much more now, but our fingers are crossed that they will suprise us ! Then the tall man came over to see how we were getting on and for a chat, he said we had done really well this year, and it was lovely to see how much Henry enjoyed it !

Thursday 25th September 2008

Henry and I popped down to the allotment after school today to plant the shallots and garlic.

We put two rows of Shallots inbetween the Red Electric onions and the Little Gem lettuce, a row of garlic (Solent Wight) inbetween the Red Electric onions and the Shallots, one row of garlic (Purple Moldovan) inbetween the leeks and the Radar onions, and one row of garlic (3 Solent Wight, and the rest Purple Moldovan) in Henry's patch which he was very pleased about.

The spinach we planted has started to come through and most of the Red Electric onions have grown too.

When we got home we noticed that the Broad Bean plants have started to grow up through the soil as well so that is good, so far we can count 18 plants !!!

Sunday 21st September 2008

All of us went down this morning and managed to build 2 more beds in the new plot. It's looking really good and I'll have to take the camera down later this week and take some photos.

We also cut the first cabbage - it was in Henry's patch which he was very pleased about and it was a good size and tastes lovely !

Saturday morning - buying garlic & shallots !

Henry and I popped to the Allotment shop on the way back from town this morning to see if the garlic had arrived. On the way in Graham stopped us to tell us it had and there were some good shallots as well, so we went in and bought one large bulb of Purple Wight (it is supposed to be earlier than Solent Wight and ready to lift from June), and a bulb of Solent Wight which is ready for lifting from July. We also bought 95p worth of Shallot Griselle bulbs, then came home.

Wednesday 18th May 2008

Henry and I went to the allotment after school today and first we planted the onion sets that we had bought from Graham in the allotment shop - we put 3 rows in where the runner beans had been. We then tidied up some of the other beds and we did some digging in the big new bed. After this was partially dug over we sowed one long row of spinach. After labelling everything we went to have a look what else was ready to take home to eat. We picked some green and purple sprouting broccoli, then we cut 3 courgettes. The butternut squashes are growing well - there are piles of them all over the plant !

Then I had a look at the cauliflowers, they really are a mystery - they have gone to seed. We called Graham over to have a look and he said they had gone to seed, this is apparently to do with the weather and nothing we have done so thats good - I just wished we had picked them about 2 weeks ago though ! Never mind, you live and learn. He had a look at the cabbages though and said as I had suspected that he thought some of them were ready so we'll cut one of them this weekend maybe.

Then he took us to his plot and gave us a cauliflower, 3 beetroot, 4 tomatoes, a sweetcorn cob and a giant tomato too ! We were very pleased. We cycled home and Henry had the corn on the cob for his tea !

One of the baby Butternut Squashes

The plants are heaving with these - the biggest being about 10cm long but I could get to that one to take a photo !!

Making the first bed on the new plot !

This bed will be used for the potatoes next year, and here is Daddy making it !It is huge ! 2.4m wide and 3.6m long - lots of lovely potatoes next year !

Sunday 14th September 2008

Daddy came down with us this morning and we built the first bed in the new plot - it is a big one, intended for potatoes for next year, but we think we'll plant some spinach in it now as it will be finished before the early potatoes go in next year.

The photos show the new position of the shed down the bottom of the plot and the new bark chippings in the area at the front where the shed originally was.

Saturday 13th September 2008

Uncle Nige & all of us were at the allotment first thing this morning to move the shed from the top of the plot to right down at the bottom with the chickens ! Uncle Nige & Daddy managed to level the ground out and place the concrete slabs down so it will be level while Mummy & Henry weeded and did some digging.

Then with Henry acting as foreman we carried the shed down to its new situation. We had a couple of falls on the way, and unfortunately it fell on the runner beans, so after repositioning it down the far end of the plot we dug up the remaining runner bean plants and disposed of them - to be honest they were coming to an end and we had eaten enough runner beans anyway !!

Then Henry and I went to the Allotment shop to find out if the garlic had arrived yet. It was its first day opening after being shut in August. Graham said the garlic would be in next week, and we then bought some normal onion sets for over-wintering (60p !) and also some Claudia Aquadulce Broad beans for over-wintering as well (they were only 70p !). So when we got home, Uncle Nige & Daddy built the steps for the decking and we planted all the runner beans - there are piles and piles of them !

Sunday 7th September 2008

Henry and I went down after lunch today, we had been to the garden centre in the morning and had bought some onion sets (Red Onion - Electric), and some Spinach seeds.

First thing we did was clear out the potato bed (we dug up and collected all the potatoes, and then disposed of the foliage on the compost heap). We had two big baskets full of potatoes ! Then we dug over and weeded the bed taking care not to damage the Little Gem lettuces we have at one end and then Henry did a really good raking job, and we removed some stones and bricks (I mustn't have been as thorough in digging the bed in the beginning !). Then we planted 5 rows of red onions. We covered them with netting as we'd read that birds like to pull them out of the ground.

We didn't have time to plant the spinach seeds, and we are not quite sure where to plant them as we wanted to leave the space inbetween the onions and Little Gem lettuce for garlic (the Allotment Shop opens this Saturday and they have some Garlic for sale). We'll sort it out though I'm sure !

Then we picked a courgette and a load of broccoli (purple and green) and went home.

Thursday 4th September 2008

Henry & I cycled down to the allotment to check whether everything was going OK down there tonight after school.

There are lots of tomatoes on Henry's plants none of which are even vaguely turning red !!! May have to try hanging them upside down in the shed or bringing them home to ripen in a drawer with a banana (apparently the ethylene that the banana releases helps them ripen). If not, maybe I'll have to look up a recipe for green tomato chutney !

We picked a couple of courgettes, and also had a look at the butternut squash which are now a couple of inches long !

Wednesday 3rd September 2008

Well, the weather has been awful, and it's stopped us going down to see what has been happening. We were hoping to cycle down after school today but it is raining, raining and raining, with no end in sight. The weather is supposed to be like this till Sunday, but we are praying for a break in the weather after school so we can just pop down and see whether anything needs picking !

Sunday 31st August 2008

Hooray ! We have finally finished digging over the new plot. We've all been working on it any spare time we had over the last few days.

Daddy cleared some of the branches from the tree at the bottom of the plot so it looks neater and is ready for when we can move the shed down there. We measured it properly and it is 5m across and 17m long (just the extra bit), so we now have a plot that is 5m by 25m :-)

We used some of the black matting that the previous guy had left behind and put in a new path with new bark chipping at the back of our existing plot ready for a new bed in the new plot (Plot 122).

Daddy also managed to break both forks (ours and Uncle Nige's) with his vigorous digging today ! Henry thought it was most amusing !

One of the other allotmenters came over and asked us if we wanted any leeks as he had piles of them, so we said yes and when he brought them over there were loads of them ! We dug out the Dwarf French Beans and picked the last of them, and then planted the new leeks (Musselburgh) in there.

Bank Holiday Weekend 23rd-25th August 2008

Daddy came down with us this weekend, as surprisingly the weather was OK, and we have nearly finished digging over all the new plot. We can see Mark's chickens now, right next to our plot which pleased Henry !

Still need to properly measure the plot now, but according to Dave's strides the old plot was 8 strides and the new plot is 17 strides, so the plot is now 25 strides long ! Will measure it sometime this week or next weekend and then we can start planning where we can put the new beds, and the fruit trees.

Friday 22nd August (am)

Henry and I went down to the allotment after getting the weekly shopping and started clearing more of the new plot. After about 20 minutes we had a break and decided to dig over where we had the lettuce and radish (that had been swamped by the peas that had fallen over). So we dug it over and then had a look through our little box of seeds. We decided to sow another row of carrots as although Henry's small row was doing well, Mummy's had been swamped by the courgette plants and so hadn't grown very well at all. Then we decided to give the radish another go, and we thought for good measure we would sow another row of Swiss Chard ! So after sowing all 3 rows we went back to clearing, digging and removing rubble !

Saturday 16th August 2008

All three of us went down to the allotment this morning, and we all cleared a big area of weeds (Daddy mostly, but Henry and Mummy did help !). Graham arrived (with Rupert the dog) and chatted to us for a while then took us to his plot to give us some tomatoes, a couple of peppers, some Little Gem lettuce plants and then Monty (from the next door plot to Graham) called us over to ask if we wanted a cabbage. We said that would be lovely, so we thanked Graham and walked round to Monty's plot. He gave Henry and I some peas to eat (Hurst something, they seemed to be sweeter than ours so I will look out for those next year). Then he cut us the MOST ENORMOUS cabbage (see photo - although the photo has about 10 leaves already removed !). After a little chat with Monty we went back to our plot laden down with goods !

Daddy and Henry carried on clearing the weeds on the new plot and Mummy started to take down the pea plants as they had started to go a bit funny (and had fallen over and covered the radish), so we collected all the pea pods, cleared the ground and then planted Graham's Little Gem lettuce in the soil inbetween the Dwarf Green Beans and the Runner Beans. We had some more plants too so we planted a row in the Potato bed where the first row of potatoes had been. Henry watered them in and we are looking forward to seeing how they get on

Wednesday 20th August 2008

Henry and I popped down to do some digging and clearing of the new plot. Nothing much else has happened apart from FINALLY Henry's tomatoes have started growing !!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray !

Friday 15th August 2008

Henry and I spent an hour and a half at the allotment this morning mainly tidying up the new plot and removing weeds and rubble ! We picked some runner beans, went to see the chickens, made the most of the sunshine and managed to remember to take the camera down !

We also started to remove the black matting that the people had put down before we had the plot and have started relocating it under our bark chippings so no weeds can grow through and it looks neater.